The VTA light rail Orange Line has returned to full service and partial service has been restored to the Blue Line Monday, after the historic union worker strike paused the agency’s bus and light rail services for almost three weeks.
The fully restored Orange Line runs from Mountain View to Alum Rock, and the partially operational Blue Line from Baypointe to downtown San Jose. The agency is working to restore service through Santa Teresa. The Green Line from Winchester in Campbell to Old Ironsides in Santa Clara had the highest copper thefts and will most likely be the last to come online.
“Obviously, we want to let riders know when our service is going to be up and running,” VTA spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross previously told San José Spotlight.
VTA bus service resumed on Friday, but light rail has taken more time to restart, as the agency’s 42-mile network of rail tracks and overhead lines are inspected and repaired.
Bus and light rail services have been down for 18 days since Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 members went on strike, but a judge ruled Wednesday the strike must end. The union represents roughly 1,500 frontline VTA workers, including bus drivers and light rail train operators.
Hendler Ross said the rail inspectors were previously on strike, so they began working Thursday on inspecting the Orange Line. There’s also been a jump in copper wire thefts from the rail lines, she said, particularly on the Green Line.
While the strike was ordered to end, ATU Local 265 and VTA will continue to negotiate the union’s new contract. Union members voted 83% Monday to reject VTA’s latest offer of 11% wage increases spread out over three years. Both parties met with state mediators Tuesday, but Hendler Ross said they’re at a stalemate.
In VTA’s statement, the agency doubled down on its last offer.
“VTA has gone as far as it can without seriously compromising service and jobs, and we hope that ATU will come to the table with sights set on really getting this resolved,” Hendler Ross said.
ATU Local 265 President Raj Singh said he was in contact with VTA General Manager Carolyn Gonot after Wednesday’s ruling to schedule a negotiations meeting, but hasn’t heard back from the agency’s labor relations. Singh said he doesn’t know when negotiations will restart.
“The judge really took away any motivation the agency has to get an agreement in place,” Singh told San José Spotlight. “Labor doesn’t go on strike and put members in financial hardship until things are at a point where there’s an impasse.”
He said the union has little to no leverage to get the public transit agency to continue negotiations or compromise with the union’s demands. The union plans to appeal the judge’s decision, but Singh said getting the case heard in appellate courts could take a year.
Singh said union members are upset about the ruling and the strike, since it’s unclear whether any of their demands will be met. The union wanted an 18% increase in wages over three years to meet Silicon Valley’s rising cost of living and changes to the contract’s conflict resolution process.
The strike left thousands of riders stranded, leaving students, workers and others who rely on public transit walking or biking long distances, or spending on ride-shares.
VTA partnered with Uber to offer two daily $5 vouchers. Hendler Ross said the partnership ends Thursday at 10 p.m., but VTA has removed the requirement that rides start and end at VTA stops.
“We’re really looking forward to getting our service started because we know how many people depend on it,” she told San José Spotlight.
Story updated March 31 at 11:45 a.m. Original story published March 27 at 10:20 a.m.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
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